EU wants BD to abolish capital punishment

Diplomatic Correspondent :The European Union on Sunday called upon the Bangladesh government to introduce a moratorium on executions as a first step towards abolition of capital punishment.The Heads of Mission of the EU Member States and the European Union Delegation issued a joint statement following the issuance of 19 death sentences on a single day on October 10 when the "World Day against the Death Penalty" was being observed. The signatories to the statement are Ambassador, Delegation of the European Union Rensje Teerink, Italian Ambassador Mario Palma, Spanish Ambassador D Alvaro de Salas Gimenez de Azcarate, Swedish Ambassador Charlotta Schlyter, France Ambassador Marie-Annick Bourdin, Charge d' Affaires at German Embassy Michael Schultheiss, Charge d' Affaires at Royal Danish Embassy Refika Hayta, Charge d' Affaires at Dutch Embassy Jeroen Steeghs and acting British High Commissioner Kanbar Hossein-Bor."The European Union and its Member States reiterated their absolute opposition to capital punishment in all circumstances and stick to their commitment to the worldwide abolition of the death penalty," the statement read. The death penalty violates the inalienable right to life enshrined in the Universal Declaration of Human Rights and is a cruel, inhuman and degrading punishment, the statement added."Furthermore, the death penalty does not act as a deterrent to crime and any error of judgment becomes impossible to correct," it further said.